Alter Our Hearts
by EmmaMary
Summary: “We aren’t like everyone else. We have never been like anyone else!” Hermione ranted, “it has always been you and…” she stopped dead in her tracks, realization dawning on her. RHr.
1. Alter Our Hearts

_**Monday, July 20, 2009: So in honor of all of the Ron Hermione shippyness in the new Half Blood Prince movie, I decide to revamp this story and introduce it to what I hope is a fairly new audience. **_

_**Ignore the second chapter, it is only there so that this story would be bumped to the top of the queue. **_

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Disclaimer- I own nothing.

Thank you to Felicia for being my muse so much of the time. This story is dedicated to both our former Murphy's.

**While reading this we should take into consideration the way Wikipedia describes Ron Weasley…**

**_He is sarcastic, passionate, hot-headed and often wears his heart on his sleeve._**

* * *

The slamming of the front door shook the whole apartment as the young women bounded heavily into the living area.

"Nice touch," a voice called from the entry way as the door creaked open again, "slamming the door in my face."

Two freshly polished shoes strode slowly to where the enraged woman was perched on the back of the sleek leather couch, her formal dress and fancy up-do made her seem like she was posing for a portrait. Her face was turned away from the man, her arms crossed protectively over her chest.

The owner of the shoes was clad in fine black dress robes, a long overcoat of the same shade billowed down to his ankles formally. His hair had been combed straight back with so much product the true deep brownness of it now appeared black. Two beady eyes were set harshly into his face, so dark they too could be called black. Below them was a small flat nose, contrasting greatly to a wide and chiseled chin that framed his large lips, now tucked into a deep frown. Although the broadness of his body was made to seem greater by the posture of a thrown out breast bone, his arms and legs were stubby and short, and he stood only a few inches over most women.

"Are you really that made at me, Hermione?" The man spoke disbelievingly.

When he received no answer from the stoic figure he began to switch on the many small lamps lining the spotless surfaces around the room.

"You didn't seem mad at all at the wedding?" The man stated, moving to stand behind Hermione's unmoving form.

Unable to hold her silence a moment longer Hermione finally spoke.

"I was not about to cause a scene at one of my dearest friends weddings!"

"He is not one of your 'dearest friends'," the dark man huffed. Hermione stood up and whirled to face him as he spoke again. "He is your ex-boyfriends brother."

"Excuse me, how do you have the right to tell me who my friends are. George and I are great friends, and if you would ever go out with all of us like I always ask you to, you would know that!" Hermione's voice came out shrill and high.

"I don't go out with you because I find it incredibly debasing to watch all of them laugh at their stupid jokes while your ex hits on you."

"Ron does not hit on me; he is one of my best friends!"

"He is in love with you," the man said matter-of-factly.

"He is not in love with me Kevin! We have known each other for over fourteen years, we have been through…"

But before she could finish Kevin was walking around the couch to face her and speaking to her in a low hurtful voice.

"Yes, you have been through so much together. Years running around your little school getting into trouble."

"How dare you," breathed Hermione.

"It isn't right for you two to be hanging around together when you've been through a long relationship with him Hermione!"

"We've also been through a war!" she screeched before she stocked off into the kitchen, Kevin at her heels.

"Yes right, he, you, and the 'Boy Who Lived' defeated 'You Know Who'…"

"Why do you refuse to say his name, Voldemort is dead," Hermione told him, but he ignored her protest and continued on.

"I know that you went through seven years of 'trials and tribulations' and you were tortured…"

The manner in which he was speaking of these awful events infuriated Hermione. The words were falling from his lips as though they were something that deserved mocking.

"How dare you!" She screamed, "how dare you make what happened to us seem any less that it was. We lost people we loved; we fought for this world while you were out frolicking in your mansion. I never _ever_ use what happened to me as an excuse for things; so don't you dare pretend I do!"

"I'm not Hermione! I just don't like it when you spend time with someone who is still so obviously in love with you!"

"Unfortunately, you do not get a say in whom I choose to spend my time with! Ron and I are friends, best friends, and until something happens where my trust has been discredited, you should trust me. That is what people in relationships _do_ Kevin."

Apparently unable to come up with a good enough rebuttal to Hermione's argument, Kevin choose to take a different route.

"Why are we even fighting?" He huffed, throwing his hands up into the air and taking a heavy seat on one of the kitchen chairs.

"Because of what you did at George's wedding tonight!"

The only response Hermione received was two dark eyes blinking unknowingly back at her.

"Do you really make so many pompous remarks that you can't remember which could possibly upset me?" Hermione cried.

"No!" he scowled, "I don't think I make any remarks bad enough for you to be mad at; therefore I have no idea what you are talking about!"

"You placed a bet on how long George and Alicia would be married! Ron and Ginny heard you loud and clear, it was their brother you were talking about! Not to mention the entire Weasley family was well within ear shot. Who knows who else heard?"

"Oh come on," Kevin sighed, "it was just a joke."

"But then you went on to talk about all the other couples at the wedding and how long they would be together. Thank God I stopped you before you got to Harry and Ginny!"

"I give it four months," Kevin said with a chuckle.

Hermione let out a loud groan and turned to make her way to the bedroom. Once again Kevin lagged behind her.

"Mi, please."

"That is not my name. You don't call someone 'her' or 'his', so you wouldn't call someone 'my'," Hermione scolded from her spot by the dresser, where she stood plucking the earrings out of her ears.

"Fine, _Her-my-oh-knee_," Kevin forced, causing her to sigh once again and head into the bathroom.

"I was just trying to lighten to mood tonight," he said.

"Yes," Hermione spoke from the bathroom, "because weddings are usually so gloomy, especially George Weasley's."

"You know what I mean," he scowled at her, "I was trying to be funny."

"Well you should stop trying," she said bluntly as she made her way back into the bedroom, her hair now falling around her shoulders and her make-up removed, "because you're not."

Before Kevin could defend himself against Hermione's insult she spoke again.

"And what about you Kevin?" she asked.

"What about me?" he repeated lamely.

"What about when you get married, do you want people at your wedding to be guessing how long you and your wife will be together?"

"Oh," Kevin stated with his back to her as he began removing his black tie, "I won't be getting married for quite some time."

Hermione was silent for a moment. It was as though all the wind had been knocked out of her. She stood and watched as Kevin fluidly removed each small part of his outfit with his back to her. When all that was left was a black shirt unceremoniously un-tucked from his dark slacks he turned around to face her again. Hermione started at the man standing barefoot on the perfectly white floors in front of her. He was a man she had been deeply involved with for almost two whole years, and now, he had just held up a stop sign to their relationship.

"Hermione," he said, breaking her out of her trance.

"What do you mean?" she said heavily.

"About me getting married?" He asked her as he moved across the room to the metallic black dresser to pull out his nightclothes.

She only nodded and he caught it out of the corner of his eye.

"I can't get married Hermione." Kevin laughed.

"Why?"

"You know why. I am one of the most talented people working at the ministry, if not the most talented person. I am working my way up and I have no doubt that in a matter of mere years I will become Minister of Magic. There is no way they will appoint anyone of the other buffoons working up there, so unless the great Harry Potter decides he suddenly wants to rule the wizarding world, the job is as good as mine."

Choosing to ignore the dreadful comment about one of her best friends, Hermione moved next to Kevin, who had resumed his search for his favorite night shirt.

"I work hard too. I am in charge of hundreds of people in many different organizations and branches and I still want to get married and start a family," Hermione spoke, dumbfounded.

"It's different with you though," Kevin said nonchalantly. "You work for house elves and goblins. You just try and make people see what's wrong in the world."

"And how," Hermione breathed angrily while Kevin remained calm, "Is that any different than what you plan on doing."

"The people I talk to actually matter, I would have real power. People wouldn't be able to choose whether they wanted to follow what I was doing. Plus you work with too many non-profit organizations, people like that don't really matter. Sure, they're great for publicity, but what I would do would actually make a difference in the world. I wouldn't just be meandering along trying to get people to do what is right."

He spoke with such an ease that Hermione could not believe it. Slowly she walked to the bed and fell back upon the silver duvet cover.

"So you think what I do doesn't make a difference?" She asked breathlessly.

"It suits what you are capable of." He said, finally finding what he was searching for in the drawer and coming up to face her.

"What I am capable of?" She said in disbelief as she rose from the bed. "I am in no way cocky like you, but I was one of the brightest witches at Hogwarts, and although I hate bringing it up after you so rudely mock it, I helped defeat the darkest wizard of all time. What I am capable of is almost anything. I would make a better Minister of Magic than you any day!"

"Please Hermione; what any of us did in our youth doesn't matter now." His voice had changed drastically from a calm one to an utterly demeaning tone. "Take your 'friend' Ron for instance. Wasn't he one of Hogwarts lower scoring students, and look at him now, assistant head of the Auror Department, second only to the wizard who finally conquered 'You-Know-Who'. While he isn't on his way to becoming minister or anything he has done incredibly well for any man. The job you have found fits you very well," Kevin seemed to believe he was paying her a compliment at his last words, and threw her a small smile, which she did not return. "It's just, nothing you do with be remembered, it's too hard to change any of the causes you are fighting for, but we still need people to do it or man kind in general would look bad."

"So," Hermione spoke angrily, "if you are saying that nothing I do matters why did you always look so interested when I spoke of the changes we were making, of the progress I had helped develop? Why did you voice your input and opinion on so many of my projects? And why on earth did you always, _always_, tell me what a change I was making in the world, how people needed other people like me, how I was making such a difference? You filthy hypocrite!" Hermione roared as her fists were clenched tightly at her side.

"Did you really want me to voice no opinion at all? Or worse! Did you want me to tell you that I though what you were doing was pointless?!"

"Yes!" she screamed, "Yes I would have wanted to know. Then I would have had the better judgment than to be with someone who didn't support me! Or I would have taken into consideration your feelings and done things differently, worked harder maybe to show your pompous arse that things can change if someone works hard enough. You are passionless, you are, and that is just despicable."

"I hate fighting with you!" Kevin groaned.

His eyes glared at her beneath his thick, dark, lashes. She had never been able to read his eyes in all their years knowing one another. They always remained dark and stoic; expressionless even during the most emotional times. It was then; in that moment, that she knew it was not her fault that she could not pull sensation from the dark orbs, but his. He let no feeling splay across his face, he hid what he felt. It was mostly, Hermione then knew, because what he was feeling almost never changed. He didn't wear his heart on his sleeve for her to embrace, but kept it under lock and key. Hermione had been stuck in a relationship for the past year that left her fishing for her partner's feelings. When she was unsuccessful, she had no choice but to bury her own emotion and follow the one track life he had set for them.

"That's our problem," she cried when the realization dawned on her, "we never talk, we never fight. I never know what you feel about what I'm doing or what's going on in your life."

"Why on earth would you want to fight?"

"Because then I would know how you feel! Tell me how you feel!"

She received no answer, just the two same eyes, dark as ever, glaring at her.

"Fine, I'll start. I want to get married!" Hermione cried to him.

"I told you, it would be too complicated if I was to become Minister!"

"How? How would having a wife be complicated?" She asked.

"It's not having a wife that would be complicated; it's suddenly not having one that would be."

"You're not willing to get married because you are afraid it will end in divorce?!"

"Think of the reputation I would get as a divorcee!" Kevin shouted.

"So now it's about your reputation?!"

"Yes, because my reputation is important! What if there were kids Hermione! How bad would it be if word got out that I didn't see them enough, that I wouldn't pay child support?"

"You are so incredibly selfish and arrogant!"

"No Hermione, I'm realistic! You name me three couples around our age that have been married over five years and I will go and marry you tonight. And Harry and Ginny don't count because they have only been married a year, I don't care that they have been together for over six years."

"You think marriage changes people that much?" Hermione asked, astonished at his words.

"Yes, it does."

"And we are just like everyone else, you don't think what we have is special?"

She received no answers from the clenched jaw of her boyfriend.

"We aren't like everyone else. We have never been like anyone else!" Hermione ranted, "it has always been you and…" she stopped dead in her tracks.

The relationship that she was thinking of, the one that had been meant to be since the first time the two people had meet, was not the one she was in at this moment.

"What?" Kevin asked of her abrupt pause.

"We aren't like everyone else Kevin, we are different."

"Hermione, we…" Kevin began.

"No," she interrupted, her voice soft now, "we are so much worse than all those couples out there. I used to think you were smart and confident. I fooled myself into believing that you would take care of me, but I was wrong. All the phony kindness you gave to the people I loved when we first started dating disappeared and I saw it, but I was too in love to care. You still treated me with so much heart it didn't matter that you insulted everyone else in my life. I am so ashamed that after everything I have been through I let you do that. But what is worse is that you let me live under false pretenses," her voice was growing steadily heavier as she spoke, "the way you treated me, the words I thought were coming from a loving heart were all lies. Two years of my life has been drowned in your despicable lies and I resent you so much for that…"

"So this is what we get from fighting, you see it's better when we don't fight!"

"No! It's good that we fought; it made me realize what a lying, arrogant, passionless bastard you are. You don't think anything of me, and now I don't think anything of you either. I'm leaving."

"Fine!" Kevin shouted, not even trying to make up for what he did, "but take your bloody cat!"

Hermione scowled at him. "So you saying you loved that cat was another one of your lies? How low did you go?"

"Oh come on Hermione. When I met you you had the bloody cat's mother, Crookshanks or whatever her name was, I had no choice but to lie about how I felt about it, I had a crush on you. Then when it had kittens and you decided to keep one I couldn't say no, I had just talked you into moving in with me. You cried for days when Crookshanks died, and all I could think about was how much better it would have been if that little rat went with it."

He pointed to the unusually small cat sitting on the couch, orange like his mother, the runt of the litter. Hermione walked steadily over to and picked him up.

"Come on Murphy," she cooed into the small cat's ear, "we're leaving, forever."

"Good," Kevin said, "I'll have your stuff shipped."

"Don't break anything," Hermione spoke cruelly, slamming the door on the way out.

* * *

With a small pop Hermione found herself standing before a large brick building. Slowly she flicked her wand and muttered the secret incantation that enabled her to pull open the grand antique doors. She could here her high heels clap onto the thick marble that floored the entire lobby, swirling with amber and gold, as she made her way to the elevator door. Her body was forced to let out a loud sigh as she read the sign hanging elegantly over the lift.

_Out of Order_

"This night is not going so well for us is it Murphy?" Hermione said to her cat as she stood in the empty lobby, cursing the shield charms that refused her apparition inside the building. "Or you know what," she added, "maybe this is one of the best days ever."

Hermione began making her way up the wooden staircase. Sconces shone with their never melting candles against the soft brown color of the stairwell, guiding her upwards.

"This is a pretty place isn't it Murphy; homey, comfortable. I'm sorry you've never been able to see outside of that stupid 'modern' apartment; all the black and silver shiny furniture and the hard tile floors. Plus it had that horrible fish tank blocking the kitchen from the family room. Who buys a fish tanks, puts in white rocks and then only buys black fish! He really was insufferable wasn't he Murph, and not in an endearing way at all. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize it, to realize…"

But before she could finish her venting conversation with her cat, she landed on the second floor, the door of her destination being the closet to the stairs. Slowly she stood before the large oak door and knocked softly with the hand holding her wand, hoping the resident of the apartment could hear here, and was not already tucked comfortably in bed.

Her fear was diminished however when the door swung open very quickly. Standing there was a tall man, his bright blue shirt un-tucked from his black trousers, his checkered tie loosened so it now folksy hung from his neck, and his bare feet standing softly on the thick carpet.

"Oh," he said as he ran a large hand through is already unruly hair. "I wasn't expecting you." His voice held a tone of surprise, but not an ounce of disappointment.

"Sorry it's late," Hermione began, hesitating before finishing, "can I, um, come in?"

"Oh, right," Ron said hurriedly, opening the door wider and moving aside so she could enter.

"You brought Murphy," Ron smiled as he reached out to take him from Hermione's arms. Slowly, and with one strong hand, Ron lifted the happy cat high above his head, smiling up at him before putting him down on the ground. He scampered off and found himself a resting place on a large overstuffed chair.

Hermione looked distressed at her cat's actions before turning back to Ron. "Oh, you don't mind do you?"

"Not at all," he replied lightheartedly.

There was a moment of silence between them as Ron pushed the entry door closed, dying to ask the obvious question as to why she was here.

As Hermione opened her mouth to speak Ron expected the answer to his question to be formed from her lips, but instead she abruptly asked.

"Can I change?"

A whole new layer of confusion spread over his face as his nodded.

With a flick of her wand Hermione made, what Ron assumed to be, a full outfit appear out of mid air.

"I'll just" Hermione began, gesturing toward the hallway.

"Oh," Ron stopped her as she was about to walk off, "you should use my room, since Charlie has been staying here for the wedding the guest room and bathroom are a complete mess. I guess I never realized how much of a slob he was when we were young, what with my mom cleaning up after everything."

Hermione laughed at Ron's comment before she spoke. "Where is Charlie?"

"Oh," Ron said, a mischievous smile playing across his face, "he told me not to expect him home tonight, before he left the wedding with a very exotic looking woman, in a very low cut dress."

Hermione let out a full laugh. Out of all the Weasley children Hermione knew Charlie the least, but she knew him well enough to know he had a way with women. Although he was normally an upstanding man, he had a passion for women that, although always respectable, sometimes broke some of his family's conservative values.

Ron smiled back at her as she turned to change out of her sleek dress robes. She walked steadily through the entry way and into the large living area. It had been painted a deep copper after Hermione and Ginny refused to let Ron paint it his favorite bright orange. There was a large bay window to the left that normally looked down onto a busy shopping area, but the checkered copper and gold drapes were drawn for a sense of privacy. After Ron had begun to make a good salary he invested in the help of his best friend and sister to furnish his new apartment. In the end he settled on a large leather recliner and soft cushiony brown couch, in addition to dark wooden tables. To the far left at the back of the living room was a large arch way, leading into a small dark blue office that held a large desk and one wall covered in book shelves. The living room took up the left side of the apartment, while the right side was open to a large kitchen and eating area. The walls were nothing but exposed bricks, while the cabinets were a deep cherry wood, matching the magnificent hardwood floors that went through the entire flat.

Hermione walked through the hallway that stood at the end of the great room, in between the kitchen and living room, and entered the last door on her right, into Ron's bedroom.

After a few minutes she stalked back into the great room to find Ron in the kitchen, pulling out mugs from the cabinet as a tea pot sat on the stove.

Ron turned when he heard her approached and his mouth took the form of a small 'o' in surprise.

Hermione stood, her feet bare beneath her long brown sweatpants, her hair curled delicately around her shoulders and her eyes beginning to droop out of tiredness. But the thing that made Ron almost gaps in surprise was what she had pulled on over her head and around her torso, for there was his sweater, a large 'R' embroidered on the front.

"Sorry," Hermione began to say, "I only called for a tank top on accident and since it's quite cold and I knew where your sweaters were, remember I unpacked them, I didn't think you would mind if I borrowed it."

"No," Ron said as he blinked his eyes away from her form, "I have like a million, remember?"

Hermione nodded solemnly.

"But why," Ron asked still refusing to look at her; "didn't you just conjure another shirt?"

"Well, you see when you conjure things from inside something, like a dresser, they tend to make noise."

Hermione began again when she realized from the look on his face Ron hadn't dismissed the question and wanted more from her answer.

"I just didn't want Kevin to think I needed anything from him or his apartment," she said curtly.

As the tea pot screeched and Ron grabbed it off the stove to pour into the two mugs he had set out, all he did was nod quizzically at her.

There was something in the way he nodded at her that sent Hermione off. It was as though his insides were bursting to know more about why there was a woman standing in his kitchen, wearing one of his trademark sweaters that she used to wear to bed when they were dating, who was obviously deeply troubled by something. Yet he wouldn't ask her what was wrong, they both knew something was going on, and they both knew the other knew, but he wouldn't ask because that is how their relationship had always been. When she was ready to tell him, he would be nothing but comforting, until then, he would nod politely, pretending to understand.

And that was all she needed to be ready to talk, one sweet nod from a man with brilliant red hair.

"I'm so sorry," she huffed, "I just show up at your door at midnight with my cat not even bothering to explain why I'm here before I'm asking to borrow your clothes and making it seem like I'm going to stay here when I don't even know if I'm welcome."

Ron wanted to smile at her, the way she talked with her hands as she threw out run on sentences that a normal Hermione would never dream of speaking. But he didn't, instead he poured the tea as she rambled on, walking closer to her and handing her a mug when she finished.

"Thank you," she said softly, looking down at the floor.

"Hermione," Ron began, leading her over to the kitchen table and gesturing her to sit. "You are always welcome here, and you may stay as long as you want."

"I broke it off with Kevin," Hermione mumbled into her tea.

"I figured," Ron spoke, trying to hide the smile spreading from his heart to his face.

"I'm that obvious?" she asked sadly, still looking into her mug.

"No, I just know you. That's all."

She couldn't stop the smile that formed on her face at his words.

"What happened?" he ventured.

Hermione took a deep breath, knowing that talking was often the best therapy, and if she didn't tell Ron, who would she tell?

"We just…we just…" Hermione began, trying to find the right words "had a fight."

"Just a fight?"

"No, not _just _a fight, _the_ fight."

"The fight?" Ron asked?

"I said some really horrible things."

"He probably deserved it," Ron chuckled.

Hermione smiled. "Oh he did."

Just as fast at Hermione's smiled had appeared it was gone again, and she had to bring a hand to her mouth to stifle her tears.

"Hermione?" Ron questioned softly.

"He told me I was worthless," she said tenderly.

"He didn't," Ron said in awe.

She abruptly stood up from her set, her eyes were livid, but full of tears.

"He said that nothing that I do in this world matters, and that although my job was perfect for my capabilities I couldn't do anything more."

Ron stood as well, taking the chance of stepping closer to her; if he wanted he would barley have to reach out to touch her.

"Hermione," Ron shook his head, and placed his hands on her forearms, looking into her eyes. "That is all a lie. I've known you since we were eleven years old and you have always been capable of anything. You do change things, all you have to do is pick up a page of statistics and you can see how much you have changed. Not to mention just observing the way wizards tread other magical creatures! Plus you helped defeat the darkest wizard of all time, how can he say what you can accomplish is mediocre."

"Yeah well, he mocked that too."

Ron's eyes were wide for a moment before he could speak.

"Well, than he doesn't deserve you." He stated simply, dropping his hands from her arms.

Hermione looked deeply into Ron's blue eyes; the words he spoke were pure and true causing the tears that had slowly dripped down her face to finally overflow. She let herself fall into Ron's arms. They had done this too often before, cried to one another, and now it seemed almost right.

Ron, more than anything, wanted to tell her that she shouldn't be wasting tears over this guy. But he didn't know how she felt about him, how she felt about the break up, just because he thought she should be happy, didn't mean that she was. He had learned a long time ago that just because something should be one way, didn't mean that is necessarily was.

"God," Hermione said suddenly, pulling slightly away from his chest to look into his face. Ron had no idea his prayers were about to be answered. "You want to know the worst part?"

"Um, sure."

"I'm not upset," she stated blankly.

"But…you…I don't understand," Ron said, confused.

"I'm not upset it's over, I don't miss him at all. I don't care if I ever see him again."

"But you're crying," he stated, dumfounded still.

"Yeah, because I just wasted over a year of my life; because _he_ just wasted a year of my life."

She pulled away from him slightly, her small hands clinging tightly to the fabric on the sides of his torso as his hands were placed back on her arms.

"He didn't want to get married."

"You asked him to marry you?" said Ron, his heart dropping.

"No," Hermione said quickly, "but I mentioned wanting to get married and he said he would never get married, and not for any good reason either."

"Why then?"

"Because he was afraid it would damage his reputation if he were to get a divorce."

"No kidding," Ron said, amused.

Hermione pulled away from Ron to sit at the table again as she spoke.

"He knew I wanted to get married, he knew any relationship I was in I would eventually want to lead to marriage. He knew I wanted kids, he just never mentioned that he didn't!"

"Hermione, I'm sorry." Ron said, unsure of what else to say.

"I lived my last year in lies. How am I supposed to process that? The man I loved wasn't the man I loved. I don't feel anything but resentment for him now, and all this time I've been too blind to see that…"

Hermione, who had been talking softly, stopped her words the second her eyes locked with Ron's

She stood unexpectedly, her eyes and mouth wide.

"What? To see what?" Ron asked.

"I don't know… I didn't mean…nothing," She finished lamely.

She walked out of the kitchen and plopped her self down on the couch.

Ron followed quickly, sitting next to her, but not too close.

"Hermione…"

"I should probably go," she interrupted.

"Hermione," Ron said with a slight tone of annoyance in his voice.

She paused for a long time before talking, making Ron unsure whether if when she finally spoke it would be to say goodbye, or to explain what had caused this change in attitude. When she did speak, it turned out to be neither.

"What happened to us Ron?" she asked, turning to peer into his eyes.

"What do you mean? We're right here." he said sheepishly.

"No," she said softly, tears flowing softly down her cheeks. "The 'us' that were so in love, the 'us' that should have been together forever."

Ron's face fell, and he turned his gaze to his lap.

"We were going on different roads. Our jobs and families took us away from each other; we didn't have a choice, not really."

"But what about now?" Hermione asked, surprising him. "Now we are in the same place in life, in physicality. Did you know that sometimes I would have more real conversations with you in a day than I did with Kevin, that sometimes I would blow him off to spend time with you, and never the other way around? I couldn't see it then because I thought I loved Kevin, I thought I loved this smart sophisticated man but in reality I loved a lie, I loved the idea of him. Whenever I pictured my future I never picture shiny marble floors or social events, I picture comfy couches and food and laughter; flowers and sunshine and sky. God that sounds so stupid and cliché," she finished, embarrassed.

"I understand" Ron said comfortingly.

"I don't know why I thought I would get that with Kevin, I don't. I was trying to replace something I thought I had lost with sometime completely different, when in reality what I need was right in front of me all along, never gone. I'm supposed to know these things; I'm supposed to have everything figured out."

"Hermione, what are you saying?"

"I think I'm still in love with you Ron, or in love with you again."

"What?" Ron asked, scooting slightly closer to her. A blush crawled across his check and up to the tips of his ears as a smiled began to dance across his face.

"I am. I am in love with you."

The second her words had been spoken their lips were touching. Neither knew who had initiated the kiss, but both found themselves lost in its euphoric feeling.

Each deepened the kiss, until Ron broke away for air. Softly he whispered "finally," and attempted to kiss her again, but she refused it.

"What do you mean finally," she said, although she was smiling.

"You finally realized it's supposed to be you and me, always," he leaned in again after his words but she put out a hand to stop him.

"Oh," she began, her face now contorted in an annoyed manner, "like you have always known?"

"Well," Ron started, setting back from her, "yeah, kind of. Is it that surprising that I had something figured out before you Hermione?"

"What?"

"Well, when you left I always hoped that one day we could be together again. And then when you came back, and we started hanging out again I knew that… well that I still loved you, but you were with Kevin, so I couldn't really do anything about it."

Hermione's deep brown eyes clashed with soft and harsh feelings. It was as though she was fighting an inner battle of what to say next. And just like it had so many times before, the harshness won.

"You could have told me," she said, scooting away till her back hit the arm of the couch.

"No I couldn't have," Ron tried.

"Yes, you could have," she demanded, raising herself from the couch.

He followed her lead as he spoke.

"What would I have said Hermione, I'm in love with you, Kevin is a bloody git so leave him and come be happy with me!"

"Yes!" She yelled, "yes! That is exactly what you should have said! Maybe then I would have left him sooner, maybe then a year of my life wouldn't have been wasted on someone I didn't truly love! Didn't you want us to be together?"

"Of course I really wanted us together! I loved…" Ron stopped himself when her face fell slightly, "I do love you."

"Then you should have told me!"

"Hermione, I may not know about everything in the world like you do, but one thing I do know is you. I couldn't tell you Hermione, you would have gotten your knickers in a knot and yelled at me for jeopardizing your relationship with Kevin. You would have told me I was being selfish and I didn't know what I was talking about. You thought you loved this man Hermione, you wouldn't have believed me if I told you he was wrong for you. You never believe me!"

"That's not true!" She yelled.

"Yes it is, it's endearing really, you thinking you are always right even when your not." There was a drop of sarcasm in his voice and it didn't go unnoticed by Hermione.

"Hey! Don't be mean! Not now!"

"I'm not being mean, I'm telling you the truth," his words may have been harsh, but his voice had calmed.

"_You are so incredibly selfish and arrogant!"_

"_No Hermione, I'm realistic!_

Hermione blocked the vision of the night previous fight out of her mind, focusing on what Ron was saying through his now calm and meaningful voice.

"I had to let you figure out on your own that you and Kevin weren't supposed to be together. If I didn't, if I had come to you and told you how I felt I could have lost you forever. If you _had_ chosen me, every time we fought, which happens a lot, I would know you would be questioning if you would have been happier if you had stayed with the man who always said things to please you instead of being honest."

"But what if I never realized, what if he had asked me to marry him? Would you have just waited and hoped one day we would get a divorce? What if there had been children Ron, had you thought about that?"

"Yes! I did! If he had asked you to marry him then I would have told you how I felt. I would never let you make that big of a mistake, but as long as you were dating him and you weren't completely unhappy, I had to just swallow my feelings, I had time. Plus, the only children you are ever going to have will be mine," he said the last words with a sly smile and Hermione's eyes grew wide.

"Hermione?" He said cautiously, taking steps closer to her.

"What if we weren't meant to be though?" She asked, "what if it was supposed to be Kevin and me?"

"But it wasn't. I saw the way he looked at you, you weren't meant to be, and that made all the difference."

Hermione had always been someone that needed facts and sense out of everything, and at Ron's last words she found truth in both his reasoning and their relationship. She flung herself at him, kissing him hard on the mouth as he lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around him.

"I promise to never let you go again," Ron whispered to her between their kisses.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Hermione smiled wide, the biggest smile, she realized, she had smiled in almost three years.

Wide grins still playing on both their faces, Ron slowly carried Hermione towards his bedroom, thankful Charlie wasn't here tonight, and that he would be leaving for good tomorrow.

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_**The End**_

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**Aw, I would really love it if you would review. I know this was long, and if you made it here I am glad you stuck with it. I was just trying out some characterization and such. I like this to and extent and I would love to see how you feel about it as well!**

**Ignore the second chapter, it is only there so that this story would be bumped to the top of the queue. **


	2. Bump Chapter

Thank you for reading! Please comment!

This chapter is only here so that the original story with the updated content could make it to the top of the queue.


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